NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Mega Development, operator Lantern Organization and the New York City Department of Housing & Preservation will develop Timbale Terrace, a 330-unit affordable housing community in East Harlem. The centerpiece of the community will be a 16,000-square-foot music and arts center that will be operated by the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. As part of that partnership, adult residents at Timbale Terrace will have access to music-based vocational training, while children can enjoy arts and music education and afterschool programs. Information about income restrictions and a construction timeline was not disclosed.
LOS ANGELES — Standard Communities and Faring have formed a joint venture with plans to create more than $2 billion of middle-income housing across California over the next 18 to 24 months. The strategic partnership, Standard-Faring Essential Housing, will engage in both ground-up construction of middle-income rental housing and the acquisition and conversion of existing market-rate properties. The partnership recently created more than 650 units of dedicated middle-income housing in Southern California with a total capitalization of over $400 million. The transactions utilized tax-exempt bond financing provided by CSCDA Community Improvement Authority, a state program that seeks to improve the availability of housing for Californians earning approximately the same as the area median income (AMI). Upon taking ownership, CSCDA Community Improvement Authority worked with Standard-Faring Essential Housing as project administrator to immediately lower rents for new residents who qualify with incomes between 80 percent and 120 percent of AMI. “By focusing on middle-income housing, California cities can ensure that middle-income families and essential workers such as first responders, hospital and healthcare staff, and teachers can afford to live near their jobs in the communities they serve,” says Jeffrey Jaeger, principal and co-founder of Standard Communities. “This joint venture will provide …
LAWRENCE, KAN. — The Annex Group has unveiled plans to develop Union at the Loop, a $43 million affordable housing project in Lawrence, about midway between Topeka and Kansas City. Located at 3250 Michigan St., the project will include 248 units for renters earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. In Lawrence, that translates to an income up to $57,300. Amenities will include a community room, exercise room, playground and computer room. The development will be within walking distance of public transportation, grocery stores and restaurants. Completion is slated for October 2022. Partners on the project include Hayes Gibson Property Services, Wallace Architects LLC, Summit LIHTC Consulting and Crocket Engineering. Kansas Housing Resources Corp. provided a 4 percent tax credit allocation alongside a tax-exempt bond issuance by Kansas Development Finance Authority. Merchants Capital provided a $35 million construction loan. Aegon Real Assets provided $16.7 million in tax credit equity.
WHITESTOWN, IND. — KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) has provided a $25 million loan through Freddie Mac as well as $21.8 million of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity to Indianapolis-based Kittle Property Group Inc. The capital will be used to build Meadows on Main, an affordable housing property in Whitestown near Indianapolis. Meadows on Main will operate under the Section 42 LIHTC program and will serve residents earning between 40 and 70 percent of the area median income. The property will include 264 units across 10 buildings. Robbie Lynn of KeyBank’s CDLI team and John-Paul Vachon of Key Community Development Corp. structured the financing.
CINCINNATI — Fairfield Homes Inc., in partnership with Kingsley + Co. and the Avondale Development Corp., has begun development of Blair Lofts, a $15.5 million affordable housing project in Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood. The four-story, 64-unit development will serve residents who earn 30 to 60 percent of the area median income. Located on the corner of Blair Avenue and Reading Road, the project will include a community room, community kitchen, fitness center, onsite storage and onsite parking. Completion is slated for summer 2022. The project received financing through the allocation of federal low-income housing tax credits by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, with Ohio Capital Corp. for Housing serving as the equity syndicator. Fifth Third Bank is the construction lender. The development also received financial support from the City of Cincinnati, the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Berardi + Partners is the project architect and Gorsuch Construction is the general contractor. Fairfield Homes will serve as property manager.
MONROE, LA. — Hunt Capital Partners has invested $8.8 million in construction financing to fund the redevelopment of the Miller-Roy Building in Monroe. The investment includes $6.4 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity and $2.4 million in state and federal Historic Tax Credit equity. The project will also include the construction of multifamily housing units in a newly built property known as Bayou Savoy Building. Michael Echols Enterprises is the developer for the project. Built in 1929, the historic three-story Miller-Roy Building will be reimagined to feature two studio apartments and 16 one-bedroom units, as well as 3,851 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. The Miller-Roy Building used to be the office for one of the first African American newspapers in the South, and was home to many African American-owned businesses at the time. The newly constructed Bayou Savoy Building will span four stories and comprise 48 two-bedroom units. The property will allow a range of incomes for leasing from 20 percent of area median income up to 80 percent, and 14 units will be in the workforce housing range. Project-based rental assistance will be provided for 24 of the 66 LIHTC units, and …
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Rethink Community, a New York-based real estate development firm and investment manager of social impact projects in urban areas, purchased 21 acres on Nashville’s east side for a new development dubbed Rethink Community – Nashville. The site is two miles north of downtown Nashville and a half-mile from Oracle Corp.’s upcoming 65-acre campus. Rethink Community, a subsidiary of Rethink Capital Partners and a division of Seavest Investment Group, plans to build workforce apartments, for-sale townhomes, lofts and neighborhood retail and dining at the site, as well as a one-acre public park. Once complete, the firm plans to deliver programs and services for residents. BlackBirch Capital acted as exclusive advisor to Rethink Community on the capital raise for the project. In addition to Nashville, Rethink Community has projects in the development pipeline in Atlanta, Cleveland, Durham and Portland.
UNIVERSAL CITY, TEXAS — Lument has provided an $18.6 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Meadows Apartments, a 216-unit affordable housing property in Universal City, a northeastern suburb of San Antonio. All units at the property, which was built in 1972, are reserved for renters earning 80 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). Marc Suarez of Lument originated the loan through Fannie Mae’s Green Rewards program on behalf of the sponsor, locally based multifamily development and investment firm Lynd Co.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has issued a statement in strong opposition to legislation being considered by Congress to create a national eviction moratorium through the end of the year. The legislation would extend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) residential eviction ban, which was created in September 2020 and extended three times before expiring on Saturday, Aug. 1. The House of Representatives, which is currently on its scheduled August recess, was unable to pass new legislation before the eviction moratorium deadline. The Senate will begin its August recess next week. NMHC led a coalition of national real estate trade groups in sending a letter urging Congress to focus instead on accelerating the distribution of nearly $50 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds that were provided by Congress earlier this year. The NMHC states that the eviction moratorium jeopardizes the financial stability of housing providers and is not constructive in supporting the continued affordability and availability of housing. The Washington, D.C.-based trade association supports federal programs as a means to help provide renter relief benefits, which it cites as helping millions of Americans pay their rent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Taylor Williams In an era in which land and construction costs are perpetually on the rise, developers of affordable housing must be able to navigate a complex web of federal, state and local programs in order to secure gap financing — the capital that covers the delta between total development costs and those covered by tax credit equity, municipal bonds or other types of subsidies. Understanding and effectively utilizing the various initiatives and incentives — density bonuses, private activity bonds, tax increment reinvestment zones, energy efficiency compliance — is no easy task. Time and manpower aside, this process is further complicated by the fact that state and municipalities have their own laws and regulations when it comes to these programs. But successfully navigating them is key to eliminating development costs not covered by tax credits — the critical piece of financing that lies at the heart of virtually every affordable housing project in Texas. For without these subsidies, the economics of paying market-rate land prices and record-high construction costs to develop housing in which rent levels are capped simply doesn’t work. “As developers that want to build high-quality affordable housing that’s basically indistinguishable from market-rate product, what we need …